Grégory Patriat is the accomplished winemaker at the helm of Nuits-Saint-Georges négociant Jean-Claude Boisset. Previously head viticulturist and assistant winemaker at the legendary Domaine Leroy, Grégory has brought a detailed, vineyard-led approach to Jean-Claude Boisset and produces wines that are truly reflective of their lieu-dits. It is a testament to his skill, that after tasting the 2021 vintage, Jancis Robinson MW wrote that she “was utterly knocked out by the balance and refinement of Grégory Patriat’s wines at J-C Boisset”. Founded by the Boisset family in 1961, the company is now based in Les Ursulines, a former convent in Nuits-Saint-Georges that has been converted into a state-of-the art, gravity-fed winery.

Chorey-lès-Beaune was recognised as a village appellation relatively recently, in the 1970s. There are no 1er Crus here and the majority of the vines are planted on the plain. However, two climats, ‘Les Ratosses’ and ‘Les Beaumonts’, are positioned higher on the hillside between Savigny-lès Beaune and Aloxe-Corton. The name 'Les Beaumonts' (“beautiful hills”) refers to this favourable location. The Guyot-trained vines are southeast facing and planted on iron-rich, red marls peppered with limestone pebbles. Grégory works with two Pinot Noir plots here, one of which was planted in 1902. These are the oldest vines that Grégory works with. As yields from these over 100-year-old vines are so low and the berries are so small, Grégory refers to them as “the caviar of Pinot”.

The hand-harvested Pinot Noir was carefully sorted on the winery sorting table before being 100% destemmed and then gravity fed into tank for a cool pre-fermentation maceration at 12°C for three days. Fermentation followed with indigenous yeasts. Three punch downs were carried out during the ferment and total maceration time on the skins (including the pre-fermentation maceration) was 21 days. Following fermentation, the wine was aged in lightly toasted, 228-litre, French oak barrels, 30% of which were new.

Red meat